Like Never Before
by livelovewrite127
Summary: This is how I would reunite Percy and Annabeth in the Mark of Athena. The ending is sort of suggestive, but I think it seems reasonable, given they haven't seen each other in eight months. so enjoy!


Percabeth Reunion

Annabeth hugged her knees to her chest as she gazed out at the sea. The closer the Argo II got to Camp Jupiter, the farther she felt from home. She knew it might have something to do with them being halfway across the country, but she also knew it was more than that. Percy was there, and he was fighting battles for these people, without her. It kind of stung to not know if he was okay, or if he even really remembered her; if he waited for her. What if he didn't? What would she do? She didn't want anyone else.

She'd done a good job keeping the ache in her heart. No one really knew of her to be weak and she wasn't going to erase that image. No one has even seen her cry before. She didn't really cry all that often. To her, things weren't going to get done if she sat along crying herself until she drowned. She had to fight for him. Not just because he was her boyfriend or because she was his girlfriend, but because she loved him.

"Annabeth? Hey, um… we're almost there… but there was something I wanted to talk about with you." Jason was standing over her.

Annabeth turned her direction from the water to him. Jason proved himself to be similar to Percy in many ways, but so different in many ways. He was loyal, kind, a strong leader, bold, but not sarcastic, naïve, dangerously loyal, and sweet the way Percy was. She liked Jason, he was her friend now, but she still couldn't help but hold some resentment for him. She knew it wasn't his choice to come to camp half-blood, but he was looked at as Percy's replacement. Even though he proved himself worthy and as a good friend, he wasn't Percy. She'd never admit it out loud, but Percy was their leader and no one could fill his shoes (mainly because they were big), not even her. She tried her best to keep things sane while he was gone, but liked him being the leader, and her telling him how to and what to do.

Nonetheless, she got up and followed Jason to the railing.

"What's up?" she asked casually.

He gazed out at the sea and the sky. He was probably thinking about home, his home.

"There's someone… someone at camp Jupiter that you might find… threatening."

Threatening?

"Threatening? How so?"

Who would she find threatening? She was pretty sure that even though Roman tactics were looked at as successful, she could still kick any of their butts in a one on one duel.

Jason let out a deep breath. "Grover told me you're the jealous type."

Oh. So that was what this was about, Percy.

"Who is she?" Annabeth asked somewhat thickly.

"Her names Reyna. She's a big believer in Praetors falling in love. She persuaded me, and I'm pretty sure she'd go for Percy too."

Annabeth sighed. "So she's never heard of being professional?"

What if Percy fell for this girl? They'd obviously been getting closer. And how do you wait for a girlfriend that could possibly be a pigment of your imagination?

_You can't be thinking of this kind of stuff right now. There's a battle approaching, and Mother earth is rising. Stop thinking about teenage drama. Even if It is about your boyfriend who you haven't seen in 8 months. Even if you have to come to terms with him not loving you anymore._

_We'd never said that. Why hadn't we said that? If he remembers me… I'm saying it._

Jason interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm just warning you. I hope they haven't… you know."

She nodded lightly. "Yeah, thanks Jason."

He nodded. "So… um… there's something else."

"What?"

"We'll be there in 5."

He grinned then walked away. She wasn't sure what she was feeling right now. She felt close, but if he didn't know who she was, she'd feel so far. Vulnerability. It was something she wasn't used to. She didn't like it either.

The boat pulled up to a dock and Annabeth gazed over at what was a surprising hundreds of demigods crowding it. They were young and old. She was shocked. She'd never known demigods to make it that far in life. Not this many, anyway. She was determined to, and seeing all these people made her more hopeful that this could happen. Her eyes though, were scanning the crowd for a familiar head full of unruly black hair and eyes that matched the color of the sea. Many of the other passengers on the ship left the boat to explore

"Do you see Percy?" Grover asked.

She shook her head. "Do you?"

Grover sighed. "Hope we have the right camp Jupiter."

Annabeth chuckled. "Well I guess there's only one way to find out."

She walked over to the ladder that would take them down, but just as she was about to climb down, she ended up touching the hand of somebody coming up. The hand was warm and familiar. She would know. She held it so many times. The figure emerged and their eyes locked. Green on grey. Her heart was throbbing against her chest. She'd thought about what she wanted to say to him countless times over the past 8 months. She'd had a plan. As usual, Percy Jackson completely abolished her plan.

Her mind was blank. It was like she numb, they were drinking in each other's presence. He grew a noticeable 5 inches over the past 8 months and the Roman training had packed more muscle on him. His hair was still messy and looked even more tempting to run yours fingers through.

"Hey." She said softly. It held a tone she hadn't used before. Emotions were flooding back to her at a speed that was too quick to comprehend.

He gave her another once over and met her eyes again. It was like he was shocked to see her.

He smiled lightly.

"Hey, Wise Girl."

She'd never been happier to hear that dumb nickname in her entire life. It wasn't even an insult, but it was cute that he continued to use it.

Her arms went around his neck and her face was buried in the crook of his neck. She squeezed him tightly. He returned the gesture eagerly. She'd never felt safer.

"I've missed you so much."

"I could never forget you, you know that right?"

"I do now." She said smiling widely. Her cheeks were reddening.

"I love you." He said intently.

She smiled at him widely as her heart skipped several beats.

"I love you." She refused to say the "too" since she wasn't saying it because he said it first. She was saying it either way. He nodded like he knew that.

"Can I… kiss you?" he blushed.

"Be my guest." She said smiling as he leaned in to kiss her.

Their lips crashed against each other with a longing like never before. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, which seemed impossible, but was made possible. They fit perfectly against each other. It was like they were molded for each other. He took one arm from around her waist and caressed her face, deepening the kiss. She found his taste to be the same, salty yet sweet. Her fingers ran through his hair, and their tongues battle for dominance. Normally she wouldn't open a greeting with a makeout session, in a view that anyone could see them if the just looked up, but when you've been away from your boyfriend for eight months there's going to be some physical need in there somewhere. That went the same way for Percy. After a little while they heard someone clearing their throat.

Grover stood there chuckling. "Get a room and say hey to your best buddy. But please, NOT the same way you said hello to your girlfriend."

Percy chuckled and clamped Grover's shoulder. "Good to see you buddy."

"Group hug!" He announced as he pulled the both of them in for a group hug.

They all laughed as they released.

The trio made small talk for a little while and laughed like old times. Percy never let go of Annabeth waist.

Grover used his hand as a fan. "Well considering there's still A LOT of heat from that little scene between you two, I'm going to go cool off."

Percy smiled. "Catch you later, G."

He turned to her. "Why don't you give me a tour of the lower deck?"

Her eyes widened and she felt her cheeks blushing. Nonetheless, she changed her expression to an elusive one and did something that suited them. She slowly walked over to the door leading to the lower deck. She swung the door open and turned to him. His eyes never left her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Only if you can catch me." She said before she stuck her tongue at him and raced through the door, fully aware that she wasn't coming out through that door for a _while_. He quickly raced after her. To say the least, he _definitely_ caught her.


End file.
